Bradford Pear Tree

MarcoYukonJuly 27, 2014

I have a few Bradford trees that have their leaves turning yellow with dark brown patches. It is affecting most of them. I lost 2-3 last year and probably will lose more if I don't do anything about it. Here are some images. If you have any idea what could be happening, please let me know. These are established trees.

Marco, your Bradford problem looks different than what I am suddenly seeing around here. Did this start with the outer eight inches or so of branches turning brown? That just looks different than the fireblight which seems to have modified itself to attack the Bradford clone monocultures Lowes and Homedespot have created.

toronado,
It could still easily be fireblight (not saying that is what it is), as FB also makes cankers. Entry through a flower on a small branch along a larger branch, then working its way downward over the course of the growing season. That's one way to produce a canker, resulting in what we see in the pictures, but not the only way.

Marco, as much as most of us here don't like these pears, I'm still sorry to have to tell you that you are probable better off removing your remaining pears, and planting something different from another family of plants. If you are open to this, ask here, and many people will be happy to help you if you will provide relevant information.